If you are new to quilting, you may have heard the term paper piecing but may not have been sure what it meant. There are actually two different types of paper piecing–foundation paper piecing and English paper piecing. Let’s tackle one of those at a time.

Foundation paper piecing helps you sew precise designs by sewing the fabric to lines drawn on paper which you tear off afterward. The paper used in foundation piecing cannot be used again. Jenny, Natalie, and Misty demonstrated three different quilts constructed with foundation paper piecing during a Triple Play on June 17, 2021.

English paper piecing is a hand sewing technique that involves basting or gluing fabric around a paper template and then hand-sewing templates together. The paper templates used to stabilize the fabric are removed once the shapes have been stitched together. Usually the paper templates can be reused. You can watch an introductory tutorial for English paper piecing with Jenny and guest Sue Daley in the video below.

You can buy precut paper pieces for your English paper pieced quilts. For example, Missouri Star carries a Tula Nova paper pieces pack that contains the pattern and all the paper patterns you need to construct a gorgeous 56” x 56” quilt.

However, you may want to invest in English paper piecing templates that allow you to cut the paper patterns you need for a lifetime of English paper pieced quilts. Missouri Star has options for you!

You might like the Tula Nova 7-piece English paper piecing acrylic templates by Tula Pink. This set of paper piecing templates contains two triangles, three pentagons, and two parallelograms.

You might also enjoy using the Folded Ribbons template set to make the Folded Ribbons project by Kaffe Fassett from his Quilts in the Cotswolds book. This two piece English piecing template set by Kaffe Fassett is made of acrylic.

Paper Pieces is a business devoted to English paper piecing. The Tula Pink English paper piecing set and Kaffe Fassett English paper piecing template set are Paper Pieces templates–created by the designers for Paper Pieces. We are proud to offer these templates for sale to our customers at Missouri Star.